


1987-Michael Wheeler & Jane Hopper

by CrepefilledBungolos



Series: {Song Inspired} [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mileven, My first works man, Season 2 Never Happened, be cool if you read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-23 05:58:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13781208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrepefilledBungolos/pseuds/CrepefilledBungolos
Summary: Mike's never been able to get over El and El's never been able to get over Mike after that week in November, so when a song plays on the Radio, Triggering memories back to their heads during a drive back home, they somehow cross paths once again in a rainy November night in the center of Mirkwood(Song-Missing you by John Waite





	1987-Michael Wheeler & Jane Hopper

The year was 1987, Hawkins Indiana

There were droplets of rain on the roof of his car gently sliding to the front, joining the ones that had gathered in the clear windows, pitter-pattering of raindrops over the radio as 16 year old mike wheeler drummed his hands on the used station wagon he bought off of Nancy, tapping the steering wheel in rhythm with the song on the radio, the girl next to him humming along to the Melodie, but then it ended and a new one began 

Every time I think of you  
I always catch my breath  
And I'm still standing here  
And you're miles away  
And I'm wondering why you left

Shit 

1984- Michael Wheeler

“Mike! Mike! come on, were going to the arcade you can’t just die here Michael” Lucas yelled at the 13 year old laying down on the floor with his walkman in hand and earphones placed on his head

And there's a storm that's raging  
Through my frozen heart tonight

 

“Go Away” mike mutters, his eyes are closed and he’s getting lost in the lyrics of the song again

“Mike, you can’t do this to yourself, your going to lose your childhood dude” Dustin said through a mouthful of Nilla wafers 

mike waved his hand lazily in a “shoo” motion and placed both hands back to the walkman on his chest and hummed to the song one again

I hear your name in certain circles  
And it always makes me smile

“Mike, come on bud” Will said encouragely “It’ll be fine, get your mind off Ele…” he paused with mike groaned in agony at the name 

“Fine, Mike call us when your done being a drama queen” Lucas said as he exited the door and hesitant will behind him

Dustin Crouched next to mike and lifted one if his ear muffs so mike could hear him 

“I miss her too” dustin said slowly, causing mike to look at him “we all do, but she wouldn’t want us to lose each other mike or for you to mope around” he said softly 

Mikes eyes filled with tears but he blinked them back

“Tomorrow we can go to the arcade again, we.. she would really want you to come, bud” 

Mike stared at dustin and nodded and put his ear phones back on , squeezing his eyes shut

dustin sighed and walked out of the basement leaving mike alone 

 

1987-Michael Wheeler  
I spend my time  
Thinking about you  
And it's almost driving me wild

“Well” Veronica said from the passenger seat of the car “Thanks for the date, I had a lot of fun” he large brown eyes staring at him and her smile dimpling her cheeks 

Mike looked at her with a shy smile, but you could see he wasn’t paying attention to her anymore he was thinking of el, He was Always thinking of El, Veronica was somehow a version of el but she wasn’t who he wanted because who he wanted was dead or gone or running or Trapped in a lab or across the country, he didn’t know, but he did know he wanted to be with her

“Me too” he said as he looked at her then at the wheel of the car then back at the girl

She gave a shy smile and kissed him on the cheek chastely he ponytail slapping his cheek as she turned to open the car and walked out, waving to mike before going into the house 

And that's my heart that's breaking  
Down this long distance line tonight

He huffed as tears fell from his eyes at the song and decided to take a drive past mirkwood, in memory he told himself

Bullshit 

1984-Michael Wheeler  
“El? Are you there? Eleven?”  
He pauses and takes in a breath than exalts it as a cry starts to form in his throat, just like it does everynight 

“Its day 576, 8:52 pm, I’m still here” his left hand was playing with his shoelaces as he heard static on the other side of the line for the 576th time

“I..Shit El, the guys think this is unhealthy and they don’t think your coming back” he’s sobbing into the radio and he takes a breath in, tasting his salty tears “I think I should stop” he feels guilty but he’s not talking to anyone, right? So it doesn’t matter he’ll still miss her even if he doesn’t try to, and if she’s alive she can come to the house, but calling her is killing him slowly, but it feels like he’s giving up on her

“Im sorry, I’m not giving up on you and I still miss you, god I miss you so much” he pauses “but it hurts too much el…Please come back ok ill, ill still be here, always.”

“promise.”

He paused haunted once again by the crackling sound of static on the other end

“Over… over and out” with that he shut the antenna slowly and laid it down beside him and let out another shuddered breath

(And somewhere in her hidden apartment in New York she did the same, and took off her mask as soon as hopper came through the door, nervously clutching an envelop with adoption papers along the side of him)

1987  
He closed his eyes as he reached the stoplight and rested his head on the steering wheel

Just turn it off

Don’t turn it off 

“Don’t turn it off”

I ain't missing you at all  
Since you've been gone away  
I ain't missing you  
No matter

The light turned green, and with a honk of a small car behind him, he kept driving

1985-Michael Wheeler

“Don’t look now but Veronica Forman is walking in our direction” dustin said in a shouted whisper

All three boys turned around to look at the girl that was mid cafeteria to the lunch table they were in 

“Wastiod’s I said DON’T look now” dustin shouted as he slapped will in the back of his hand on his arm

“Hey!” Will said through his sandwich bite

“Why is she coming over here?” Lucas whispered in questioning

“She likes mike” will said pointing the sandwich in mikes direction who was just enjoying his fries 

“Bingo” dustin said as he tapped his nose once 

“Im not interested” mike said as he dipped his French fry in ketchup and dropped it in his mouth

His friends shared a look and mike caught on 

“What?” Mike asked

“Nothing its just..” Will started 

“El’s…She’s not coming back mike, you can’t just die alone in grief” Lucas said tenderly 

Mike stared him in disbelief half a French fry still in his mouth 

He wanted to tell them off, they don’t talk about el, the wound isn’t healing for mike and it hurts all the time, now a days he just ignores the sting,  
But the others seem to have forgotten about that week in November back in 83.

“Shut up Lucas’ mike mutters as he plops another French fry in his mouth 

“Lucas is right mike, I don’t know just give her a chance” will states softly 

mike stares at them three, he knows they mean good, he does  
But its like their asking him to forget about her and continue his life like nothing happened. The way their doing it, and he can’t he won’t

So he stands up from the table, slumps his back-bag on his shoulder, looking down at his feet when the others give him a questioning look

“Im..i’m not. Ready” mike almost whispers and walks out of the cafeteria before he can see the others respond

As for veronica she goes back to her table half way to the boys, knowing its probably not the time

 

1987-Michael Wheeler  
There's a message in the wild  
And I'm sending you this signal tonight

He fiddles with the radio but the switches don’t work in this damn car and he only turned on the radio for stupid veronica who “Doesn’t like the silence”

“Veronica’s not stupid she’s great and pretty and into you he” tells himself

“But she’s no El” a voice in the back of his mind says 

“You knew her for a week idiot” he reassures himself 

“And somehow you love her more than anyone else”

He once again lays his head on the steering wheel

You don't know how desperate I've become  
And it looks like I'm losing this fight  
———————  
In your world I have no meaning  
Though I'm trying hard to understand

 

1984-Jane Hopper

“El?” Hopper asks through the apartment 

a sniffle comes to his ears from the direction of the living room

He seeing her a stream of blood on her nose and tears slowly gliding down her porcine cheeks

“What’s wrong?” He’s kneeling infront of her as he takes the blindfold in her hands to wipe the blood from her nose and the droplets on her cheeks

“He’s not gonna call anymore” she almost whispers just before a sob reaches her throat

“el..”  
He doesn’t know what to say, Hopper’s never been good with words, so he hugs her and she sobbed into his shoulder clutching his new police uniform for dear life

“You were right…Im the last thing he needs right now” she says into his chest 

His hand streak her short curls with his big hands and rests his chin on the top of her head 

He looks over to the radio that is currently playing a pop Melodie into the small apartment 

And it's my heart that's breaking  
Down this long distance line tonight

1987-Jane Hopper

But I ain't missing you at all  
Since you've been gone away

“El?” Hopper says softly as he’s driving down Loch Nora, Passing small mansions and sculpted fountains, god he hates these pampered pricks

“I just don’t understand why we had to come back, you had a great job as a normal ass police man back in New York, but no Chief of police is sooo much better because Callahan doesn’t know what he’s doing,” she wines staring at the drumming rain on the clear glass window as they pass houses that must be worth thousands

“I don’t think thats why your mad” hopper says as he takes a sharp turn towards Cornwallis 

“No, thats why I’m mad” she says with no tone of voice as she glares at her adoptive father 

“No, You miss those knuckleheads and your scared that they’ll be mad seeing that your still breathing and told no one, especially that wheeler kid” he pulls up to a red light and faces he as he waits for the light to turn green  
Her mouth in a hard line but her eyes show that everything he just said was completely true  
Losing the battle she looks back at the window

“I don’t miss him” she mutters quietly almost drowned in the sound of sharp raindrops falling on the roof of the vehicle 

Yes you do

“Yes, you do” hopper says in a matter-of-fact kind of tone

“I don’t want to miss him” she says quietly and hopper hears it but he doesnt know what to say, so they stay there, going down the old cherry road the only sound following them the tapping of droplets 

I ain't missing you  
No matter what I might say

1985-Jane Hopper

I ain't missing you

“Jane!” 

She turns around to James Mathews running up to her, short brown hair, green eyes and all along with a pair broad shoulders

“James” she smiles in return, putting her textbook back into book bag, and closing the locker

“I um I was wondering, if um you were free tomorrow night, you know for um a date” he’s turning red, tomato red and she can’t help but chuckle at his sudden shyness 

James was a confident guy, not popular , but one regularly liked, he used to touter her in the beginning of freshman year, but now a days they would just hang out. All the time. Together.

It didn’t help that it seemed that hopper liked him more then she did.

Because she did, really he was amazing and sweet and kind and the last time she thinked of mike was early January, 4 months ago when she say him on a date with a pretty girl named Veronica all smiles and red cheeks and tripped sentences, just like James is looking at her

Jesus! Why are thinking of mike right now?!

“Yes, I’d love too” she nodded enthusiastically as she adjusts the back-bag strap on her thin shoulder, they smile brightly for a second 

“Oh ok great thats yeah, ill um pick you up at eight, yea? Yeah” neither of them pause their grins, until her lowers his head down and steals a kiss off her lips

Both look surprised, James from where the hell he got the courage to do that and El, the difference between kissing mike and kissing James  
ain't missing you (I can lie to myself these days)

She gives a shy smile and he returns it

“Ill see you Tomorrow” He nods and with that el walks down the hall. Of the school hall feeling guilty for what she just did.

Kissing someone while thinking of someone else.

I ain't missing you at all, I ain't missing you (No way, baby)

1987-Michael Wheeler

He huffs a loud sigh as the lyrics roll out of the speaker, relieved that the song is finally ending

His head still on the steering wheel, hands under his head he looks over to the right window as headlights shine in front of the road before a car passes his, but they doesn’t , the car stops before it reaches mike , he doesn’t know what makes him look, its more of a feeling, a need to look 

so he does

A red hunchback, Jim hopper in the drivers seat muttering something under his breath and a girl in the seat next to him groaning loudly, he doesn’t recognize her but at the same time he does, something about he flowing curls and button nose, only if he’s seeing the left side of her face

Something about her.

Reminds him of home.

1987- Jane Hopper 

“I TOLD YOU, HOPPER FILL THE GAS, BUT NO IT’LL BE FINE NOW WE’RE STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF MIRKWOOD IN THE FREEZING RAIN” el groans, he told him a hundred times but he wouldn’t listen 

Something they have incommen?  
Their both stubborn shits

“OK EL, fine you were right, look theirs a guy in that car go ask him if he has and gas to give” he opens his wallet and takes out a 20 dollar bill and passes it to eleven “ if he does, give um this” 

She glares at him 

“ You owe me a milkshake” she snaps 

Without that she steps out of the car, hugging herself in James’s stolen hoodie and starts to jog to the car

1987-Michael Wheeler

Shit  
Shit  
Shit

Must of seen me staring

shit

He looks back again, the girls in a hoodie and hugging herself as she jogs to the car

shit  
Shit  
Shit 

1987-Michael Wheeler and Jane hopper

She taps the window light, she’s practically soaked in rain by then , and the figure in the car is barley visible due to the pounding rain clogging her vision 

The window rolls down slowly but she’s not looking at it. she’s seeing hopper talking on that stupid car walkie-talkie, probably with Callahan, “guy never was bright” hopper said with a chuckle

She smiles at the memorie

“El?” She looks down to the car 

And sees Him

I'm okay 

She seeing mike 

I'm doing fine here from day to day

The whole world disappears around her and its just mike and his watery chocolate brown eyes and fleshy lips, his dark tip-curling locks and the constellations scattered across him nose

I ain't missing you

The whole world disappears around him and its just El and her soaking shoulder length curls and full lips, her adorable button nose and those watery eyes, god those big brown eyes

Its just him and her

Her and him

Mike and el

“Mike.” She breaths 

And suddenly

Everything falls back into place

I can lie to myself

_I can lie to myself ___

**Author's Note:**

> eh? leave a comment please :)


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